Gunmen in a red Highlander jeep killed a security operative and two civilians in Nnewi, Anambra State, during a Monday attack.
According to a statement by Tochukwu Ikenga, the Police Public Relations Officer for Anambra Command, the assailants engaged in a gun battle with security operatives after abducting a citizen in Nnewi.
The confrontation extended to Nnobi, where the operatives had trailed the kidnappers.
“During the gun duel, one of the security operatives was fatally hit by a bullet. The assailants’ indiscriminate shooting in an attempt to escape also resulted in the death of two innocent passersby,” Ikenga reported.
Police responding to the scene recovered the victims’ bodies and transported them to the hospital. Unfortunately, three of the victims, including a 22-year-old woman, were pronounced dead by medical personnel, while two others are currently receiving treatment.
State Commissioner of Police, Nnaghe Itam, condemned the attack, describing the killers as “cowards who have murdered sleep.” He expressed condolences to the victims’ families and pledged to seek justice for the fallen security operative and the innocent bystanders.
Itam also called on the public, especially eyewitnesses, to provide any information that could assist in the ongoing investigation and efforts to apprehend the perpetrators.
